St George Illawarra recruit Adam Cuthbertson is finally putting his Cronulla nightmare behind him as he looks to add another string to the NRL premiers' bow.

Dropped to park football by the Sharks, Cuthbertson jetted off to the US to clear his head before linking with the man famous for getting the best out of mere mortals, Wayne Bennett.

The 26-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Dragons and his trial form suggests one of the game's few remaining genuine ball-playing forwards could be back.

"I'm just enjoying my footy again, just happy off and on the field so it's just made life a lot easier in terms of getting my body right for the season, my weight, my fitness and my injuries," Cuthbertson told AAP.

"My belief in myself hasn't changed too much, (it was) just a matter of getting everything else in order.

"I had faith that I'd find somewhere if things didn't go right at Cronulla and obviously they didn't."

He's not wrong there.

Bought from Manly to bolster the Sharks' lacklustre attack, he soon fell out of favour with former coach Ricky Stuart amidst rumours he lacked the hardness needed in the NRL.

"No one wants to go from first grade to reserve grade to A grade in a season," he said.

"I tried to just stay positive as much as I could but, in saying that, it was pretty hard.

"At the end of the year I just took my time to get away from footy for eight weeks and find my love for it again, just clear the head and come back with a fresh start."

The Dragons have ground opponents into the dust in two seasons under Bennett, a method which finally earned the club a first premiership in more than 30 years last October.

Cuthbertson adds a different ingredient.

"(Bennett) hasn't tried to take (the ball-playing) away from me or anything, just scrub up on a few areas like my carries and right time, right place on the field," he said.

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